Jalen Rose upset US Olympics Men’s basketball team is not all-Black
Racism Score: 2.9
ESPN’s Jalen Rose is making headlines because of his opinion on U.S. men’s national basketball team roster, scheduled to play in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
Rose expressed his disappointment that, Kevin Love, a white basketball player made the roster and equated the selection as “tokenism.”
Not so fast my friend.
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, the roster was made up of only Black players. Literally, five years ago the roster had only Black players.
Adding insult to injury, 4 out of the past 5 teams have been all-Black expect for the 2012 team when Love was the only white player. Since 1992, there have only been five white players to make the U.S. men’s national basketball team roster.
- Christian Laettner (92)
- John Stockton (92, 96)
- Chris Mullin (92)
- Larry Bird (92)
- Kevin Love (2012, 2021)
Rose also fails to mention the Black players who declined the invite for rest, injury, or other reasons before Love accepted the invite. Notable players such as:
- Lebron James
- James Harden
- Chris Paul
- Kyle Lowry
- Jimmy Butler
- Anthony Davis
- Donavan Mitchell
- Kyrie Irving
We imagine had any of those players accepted, Rose would have gotten his wish of an all-Black team.
This oversite is not as bad as Jay Williams absurd tweet about the Boston Celtics hiring its “first” person of color as head coach when in fact it was their sixth. Nevertheless, Rose should have done his homework.
Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
In full transparency, we are fans of Rose and admittedly, it pains us to call him out! We do not agree with everything he says, but Rose is a consummate professional.
If you have followed the show Jalen & Jacoby from its inception, you would know they have ALWAYS been outspoken about racial injustices…real or perceived.
Can the social justice outspokenness be a bit much at times? Yes. However, it is their show, they can talk about whatever they like. Agree to disagree. Even when you think they should “stick to sports.”
On a positive note, we encourage everyone to read about Jalen Rose’s contributions to create the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (JRLA) for Detroit’s disadvantaged youth.
This is the epitome of putting your money where your mouth is. More people who have the means to make tangible impactful change should follow Rose’s lead, instead of spouting the same “social justice warrior” talking points.
Despite Rose’s unfortunate and ignorant (probably more likely than not, racist) comments, he should not be judged on this instance in our opinion.
He will probably be a top seed in next years Woke All-Star Bracket Challenge by Outkick.
Will he be able to beat defending Woke champion Jemele Hill?
If he keeps up the race-baiting comments, he might have a shot at the infamous title!
